An armed man arrested at President Donald Trump’s California golf club allegedly possessed copies of first lady Melania Trump‘s schedule along with detailed information about Secret Service agents assigned to protect the president, prosecutors disclosed Wednesday at a Los Angeles County court hearing.
Jeanine John Taele, 38, is accused of carrying seven notebooks totaling 208 pages of writings, drawings and sketches linked to Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes. The material included Secret Service personnel schedules, details about individual security agents and lists related to surviving off the grid, according to prosecutors.
Judge Calls the Allegations Against Taele ‘Alarming’
Los Angeles County Judge John Lonergan Jr. did not hold back in his assessment of the case. “This case itself is alarming in this day and age with the violence that is creeping into our everyday lives, especially with our partisanship in the political environment,” Lonergan said, according to the Associated Press, referencing the political climate ahead of the midterms.
The arrest stems from an incident on Aug. 2, when plainclothes federal agents allegedly observed Taele walking the golf club grounds, taking photographs and videos and appearing to monitor security operations before a planned Trump visit. Sheriff’s deputies detained him and found a 16-round magazine loaded with hollow-point ammunition in his pants pocket. A search of his vehicle turned up a loaded pistol with a round in the chamber and an additional hollow-point magazine. Taele allegedly told authorities he worked for the State Department and was present as part of a security detail. Regarding the Melania Trump security threat, prosecutors say the evidence points in a far more concerning direction.
Weapons and Body Armor Found at Taele’s Home
A subsequent search of Taele’s home in Downey uncovered an illegally modified AR-platform rifle, a .45-caliber pistol, body armor, high-capacity magazines, bulk ammunition and radio signal devices. Investigators also recovered additional notebooks containing what authorities previously described as “concerning statements.”
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Secret Service and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are all investigating. The Secret Service said it “thoroughly investigates any information or activity that may reasonably be perceived as a protective intelligence concern or indicate a potential threat or directed interest toward any individual under Secret Service protection.”
Mental Health Court to Decide Taele’s Next Steps
Criminal proceedings were suspended after a pretrial evaluation found Taele mentally unfit to stand trial. The case was transferred to a mental health court, and Taele, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, will remain jailed until a Sept. 9 hearing at Hollywood Mental Health Court.
His public defender, A.J. Bayne, urged caution before drawing conclusions. “He’s a veteran, he served our country, and I don’t know enough right now, but he has a family that loves him, that has huge support for him,” Bayne told the AP, adding that “people assume too much” about his client’s motives. President Trump addressed the earlier arrest during an appearance on Fox News, saying, “Well, the only thing I get a little solace from is, they say only consequential presidents. And I am definitely consequential.”
